


Three Important Things to Know About Bucky Barnes

by CaptainMarvel616



Series: Tumblr Prompts and Wrtings [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Blind Date, Some Kind of Wonderful Reference, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 07:40:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7524208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainMarvel616/pseuds/CaptainMarvel616
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tumblr Prompt - Reader works for Tony Stark and is working on Bucky’s arm when he mentions that he’s being set up on a blind date.  The reader suggests that he try his moves out on her since it’s been a while and they kiss because they like each other and haven’t admitted it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Important Things to Know About Bucky Barnes

**Author's Note:**

> This just reminded me of the awesome 1980's movie, Some Kind of Wonderful.
> 
> I just started a writing blog on Tumblr. You can find me on Tumblr at Captain-Writing-Marvel

You were working quietly in your lab at Stark Tower when you heard the door open and close

“Hey, (Y/N)?”  You looked up to see Bucky Barnes walking toward you, an amused grin on his face.  “You have a second to look at my arm?  Something at the elbow is sticking.” 

You realized how completely ridiculous you must look with giant magnifying goggles on, but you also knew that if you didn’t finish your work, your boss, Tony Stark, was going to grumble.  You were working on a small laser guidance system to fit on Redwing for Sam Wilson, and they were hoping to have it ready as soon as possible. 

Sam and Stark had both been in and out of your lab all week while you worked on it, Stark to micromanage the project, and Sam to keep an eye on Redwing and entertain you.  You really liked Sam.  He was sweet and he made you laugh, even if he did have the unfortunate habit of teasing you about your social life, or lack thereof.   Luckily, you were almost done with your part of the project when Bucky showed up.  “Oh yeah, sure.  Let me just finish this last connection.” 

He nodded but stayed where he was.  You tried to concentrate, but couldn’t shake the feeling of someone looming over you.  Not just any someone either.  Bucky had a way of making you feel nervous any time that he was around. 

“I’m sorry,” you looked back up at him apologetically.  “Do you mind moving over there for a minute?  This is pretty delicate work, and if I do something wrong, it might explode.  Mr. Stark will never let me hear the end of it if I injure an Avenger.”

He shrugged and walked to the other side of the room, but you were fully aware that he was still watching you work.

* * *

The summer before your last year of study at MIT, you were chosen for an internship at Stark Industries.  You’d spent two months doing your work and barely being noticed by anyone until one day when you happened to be delivering a package to Tony Stark himself, and found him deep in thought as he stared down at what looked like an arrowhead.  Deciding that you shouldn’t disturb him, you placed the package on his desk and turned to leave before a frustrated voice stopped you.

“Hey Intern?  Come here a sec.”  He motioned you over and you actually looked around the room to see if he was talking to someone else before you joined him at the table.  “I’ve stared at this thing so long that I think I’m going cross eyed. What am I missing?”

He looked up at you expectantly and waited as you examined the arrowhead in front of him.  It was an easy guess that this was a design for Clint Barton, the Avenger’s archer.  You’d never met him, but you knew that he liked arrows that did more than just pierce the target. 

“This looks good if you want it to explode in a quiver when it gets jostled around, which I’m guessing isn’t your goal unless you’ve decided to murder one of your teammates,” you answered confidently. 

“Between you and me?  Some days that sounds like a better idea than others,” Stark chuckled, “but you are correct.  I want it to blow when it hits the target.”

You picked up a pair of pliers and indicated a small red wire.  “See how you have this red wire hooked directly to the trigger?  You need to switch it with the green wire.”

“Won’t that make it slower to respond?”

“Yes.  The response would be about the time it would take for the arrow to hit, assuming distance and speed are accounted for.  What it won’t do is blow too early.  If you add a pressure sensor here,” you pointed to an outside spot on the arrowhead very near to the point, “You could have it trigger the explosive and he should be able to shoot from any distance at any speed.”

Stark considered you for a moment before smiling.  “I’m impressed.  Glad to see MIT is still teaching you kids how to do things properly.  Thanks, Intern.”  With that, you were dismissed and you finished out your internship uneventfully. 

Given that you thought you’d made zero impression during your internship, you were surprised two years later when you received a hand delivered package on the day you were awarded  your Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.  It was a job offer from Stark Industries with a hand written note from Stark himself explaining that he’d been following your studies and was looking forward to working with you.  You started your new job one month later.

You had been there a little over a year when you were called into Stark’s lab and introduced to Bucky Barnes.  There was a problem with his arm, and Stark wanted your opinion.  After you successfully solved the issue, Stark declared Barnes to be your problem and left him to you. 

Since then, you and Barnes had formed something of a friendship.  He would drop by when he was around whether his arm needed maintenance or not, and you would find books for him to read, which you often discussed by e-mail or text when he was away.  You also enjoyed searching for strange flavors of ice cream for him to try, because the first most important thing to know about Bucky Barnes, was that the man loved ice cream.

* * *

After finishing what you were working on, and managing not to blow yourself up, you motioned for Bucky to return.  “Now, what’s going on with your arm, Barnes?”

He held his metal elbow toward you.  “It feels like something is stuck in it.  You weren’t really likely to hurt yourself, were you, (Y/N)?”

You began examining his arm as you answered.  “Well, it could have blown up, but it was unlikely.  I’m pretty good at what I do.”

“It just seems like you should be wearing protective gear or something.  You know, to be a little safer?  What is that anyway?”

“It’s for Redwing,” you replied, launching into a long technical explanation that you knew he probably could care less about, but he humored you by looking like he was fascinated.  It was a good distraction as you poked around in his arm though, because the second most important thing to know about Bucky Barnes was that even though he knew his arm sometimes needed maintenance, he got somewhat twitchy when the work was being done.  Your scientific babble seemed to do the trick, even though you were sure it must bore him to tears.   

“Ahhh…..found it,” you said cheerfully as you held up a small popcorn kernel that had somehow gotten lodged in his arm.  “What in the world have you been doing, Bucky?”

He looked at the small offending kernel as he tested out his arm.  “There might have been a food fight at movie night last night,” he shrugged.  “Sam started it though.  He was teasing me.”

You raised an eyebrow at him.  “He was teasing you, so you decided to start a popcorn war?  Sometimes it’s hard to believe that you all are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.  What was he teasing you about?”

“Dames.  You know, girls?”

“Yes, Bucky.  I’m familiar with girls, being one myself.”

He ran his real hand over his face.  “Believe me, I know you are.  Anyway, he thinks I need to get out there and date.  Stevie’s dating Sharon, and Sam’s been seeing someone himself.  I don’t know.  He set me up on some kind of blind date tonight, and I don’t want to go.  Could you tell him that my arm is too messed up to do anything?  I’d really appreciate it.”

You gave him a startled look.  “A blind date?  Tonight?  Hmmm…….I’d like to help you out, Bucky, but he might be right.  Maybe it’s time to get out there and see what dating in this decade is like.”

“Thanks a lot, (Y/N).  Here I thought we were friends.  How about if I tell him that I’m taking you out instead?  I know you wouldn’t really want anything to do with someone as messed up as I am, but maybe if you pretended, it would get Sam off my back?”

You knew your eyes had to be as wide as saucers, and you covered your mouth to keep from laughing.  “You already agreed to go out with someone though, didn’t you?  Are you really going to have Sam call her and tell her that you are cancelling at the last minute?  That’s kind of rude, isn’t it?  Besides, I have plans already.”

He sighed and slumped down in the chair beside her.  “I guess you’re right.  Maybe another time then?”

“Maybe,” you smiled.  “So what’s she like?”

Bucky shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Sam told me very little about her.  He said she’s cute, friendly and that she’s just my type.  I remember enough about dating back before…………well, back before the War, to know that gals that need to be set up on a blind date usually need it for a reason, if you know what I mean.”

“Wow,” you exclaimed as you gave him your best offended expression.  “That’s pretty judgmental, don’t you think?  Maybe she’s just very busy with her career and doesn’t have time to meet people.  Or maybe she’s been waiting for the right person and he just hasn’t bothered asking.  These days, a blind date doesn’t mean the person has two heads or something.”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N).  I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk.  It’s just that I…..Never mind.”

“Let’s talk about you instead, Mr. Barnes.  If this is your first date since before the war, do you even have any idea how to act?”

“Yeah, I mean I think so.  I’m picking her up at 6:30pm, and taking her to dinner.  Stark volunteered to make reservations at some swanky, hard to get into restaurant, but I thought a diner would be more casual and laid back.  If it goes well, maybe a walk in the park or a carriage ride, then an ice cream parlor for dessert.”

You smiled at him.  “That actually sounds nice.  Good call on dinner.  It’s much easier to talk when you aren’t worried about blending in at some fancy restaurant.  Plus, you know, if your date has two heads, less people will notice at the diner,” you giggled.

“(Y/N)!  Stop it.  I’m sorry I said that about girls who need blind dates.  I didn’t mean it,” he grumbled.

“You should be sorry.  Now, what about when you take her home?”  You gave him a sly grin.  “What happens when you walk her to the door?  Modern women, if the date goes well, might expect a kiss at the end of the night.  Have you even kissed a girl since the 1940’s, Bucky Barnes?”

His face contorted into something like panic.  “Hydra didn’t really keep me around for kissing, and we didn’t kiss on a first date back then anyway.”

You threw your head back and laughed.  “Don’t play the innocent with me, Barnes.  I’ve heard stories.  The only reason you weren’t kissing on a first date was if the girl didn’t want to.  Modern women?  We sometimes want to.”

“Well, thanks, (Y/N).  Now I have something else to worry about.  Yeah, okay.  I’m a little rusty.  What happens if I’m not very good at it?”

“You might not get a second date,” you sniggered.  You glanced around your empty room and noted that Bucky had locked the door behind himself when he came in earlier.  He was nervous enough about having his arm taken care of, but he hated even more when someone came in while it was happening.  You knew it bothered him and had gotten used to him locking the door.  Right now, you were quite happy for it.  “If you’re worried about it, you can try your moves out on me.  I’ll give you a scientific assessment.”

Bucky’s eyes went wide and he looked more nervous than you’d ever seen him.  You thought for a minute that you’d made a huge mistake and he was going to bolt for the door, but he seemed to get control of himself and the look on his face suddenly resembled the photos that you’d seen of the cocky ladies’ man that James Buchanan Barnes once was.  He stood up and held his hand out to you.  “I’m gonna need you to stand up, (Y/N).”

You took his hand and he pulled you gently to your feet.  You swallowed hard and opened your mouth, hoping that words actually came out of it.  “So, you walk ol’ Two Heads to the door and one of her heads thanks you for a lovely evening.  Do you kiss that head or the other one?”

The cocksure look slid off of Bucky’s face.  “Stop it,” he grumbled.  “I know that was a horrible thing to say.  Besides, I’m being set up too.  What does that say about me?”

You reached over and placed your hand gently on his forearm.  “Maybe that you just haven’t met the right person?”

“Or that I have and she’s way too good to ever consider a guy like me,” he responded sheepishly. 

You expected to have to talk Bucky through the kiss, so you were surprised when he took a step to close the gap between you, placed his hand on your cheek and leaned down to kiss you without your prompting.  His lips were soft and warm and before you knew what you were doing your arms were around his neck pulling him tighter against you.  Soft lips gave way to tongues and soon you were both completely lost in the moment.

When you reluctantly pulled away from each other a few minutes later, he held you close as you both caught your breath.  You finally managed to move away from him and stared at the floor so that he wouldn’t see the blush creeping across your cheeks. 

“So how was it, (Y/N)?  Scientifically, I mean.”

“Pretty good.  You seem a bit rusty, but nothing a little practice couldn’t cure.”  He seemed to take that as an offer, but you stopped him when he leaned in to kiss you again. 

“Bucky?  I would like nothing more than to sit here and help you get ready for your date tonight, but it is pushing 5:00pm, and I have to leave.  I have plans tonight myself, remember?”

The look of disappointment on his face made you almost feel sorry for him.  “I understand,” he finally sighed.  “Have a good night, (Y/N).” Instead of leaving, he quietly waited as you powered down your equipment and gathered your belongings. 

There was an awkward silence between you as he followed you to the elevator, and down to the employee’s exit of the building.  He opened the door for you but put his metal arm up to stop you before you walked through it.  “(Y/N)?”

“Yes?”  You looked up into two very unsure brown eyes.

“I hope you have a nice evening,” he finally sighed, moving his arm to let you walk outside.

“Bucky?”  You called out to him as you stopped the door from closing.  “Don’t you want to know what I’m doing tonight?”

He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.  “Sure, I guess so.”

“Sam set me up on a blind date.  Some friend of his that he thinks I might like.  The guy’s supposed to pick me up at 6:30pm for dinner and I really hope he isn’t late, because lateness really bugs me.  I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn’t have two heads.” 

You saw the look of shock on Bucky’s face briefly, as you let the door shut behind you, practically floating through the subway on the way home.

The third most important thing to know about Bucky Barnes was that he was one heck of a kisser, and when he rang your doorbell precisely at 6:30pm, you couldn’t wait to find out more.


End file.
